Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Fresh Figs

This dish takes inspiration from a city where fig trees grow in abundance. “Growing up, there were tons of fig trees around, and we would eat figs dry or fresh in fruit salads,” Yotam Ottolenghi said. “We wanted to celebrate those memories and came up with this recipe.”

Ingredients

• 4 small sweet potatoes (2 1/4 pounds total)
• 5 tablespoons olive oil
• Scant 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (you can use a commercial rather than a premium aged grade)
• 1 ½ tablespoons superfine sugar
• 12 green onions, halved lengthwise and cut into 1 1/2-inch segments
• 1 red chili, thinly sliced
• 6 ripe figs (8 1/2 ounces total), quartered
• 5 ounces soft goat’s milk cheese (optional)
• Maldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

• Nutritional Information

  • Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

    462 calories; 17 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 12 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 74 grams carbohydrates; 10 grams dietary fiber; 29 grams sugars; 5 grams protein; 151 milligrams sodium

  Note: Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available data.
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4 servings

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Wash the sweet potatoes, halve them lengthwise, and then cut each half into 3 long wedges. Mix with 3 tablespoons of the olive oil, 2 teaspoons salt and some black pepper.
2. Spread the wedges out, skin side down, on a baking sheet and cook for about 25 minutes, until they are soft but not mushy. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
3. To make the balsamic reduction, place the balsamic vinegar and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then decrease the heat and simmer for 2 to 4 minutes, until it thickens. Be sure to remove the pan from the heat when the vinegar is still runnier than honey; it will continue to thicken as it cools. Stir in a drop of water before serving if it does become too thick to drizzle
4. Arrange the sweet potatoes on a serving platter. Heat the remaining oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat and add the green onions and chili. Fry for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring often to make sure not to burn the chili. Spoon the oil, onions and chili over the sweet potatoes. Dot the figs among the wedges, and then drizzle over the balsamic reduction. Serve at room temperature. Crumble the cheese over the top, if using.

45 minutes